31 Put options and compensation rights granted to noncontrolling interest shareholders

This balance sheet item consists primarily of the present value of the cash settlement in accordance with section 305 of the Aktiengesetz (AktG – German Stock Corporation Act) offered to MAN shareholders in connection with the control and profit and loss transfer agreement, including the basic interest rate in accordance with section 247 of the Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (BGB – German Civil Code) assumed until the end of the award proceedings. The Annual General Meeting of MAN SE approved the conclusion of a control and profit and loss transfer agreement between MAN SE and Volkswagen Truck & Bus GmbH, a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, in June 2013. The agreement sets out that the noncontrolling interest shareholders of MAN SE are entitled to either a cash settlement in accordance with section 305 of the AktG amounting to €80.89 per tendered ordinary or preferred share, or cash compensation in accordance with section 304 of the AktG in the amount of €3.07 per ordinary or preferred share (after corporate taxes, before the shareholder’s individual tax liability) for each full fiscal year. In July 2013, award proceedings were instituted to review the appropriateness of the cash settlement set out in the agreement in accordance with section 305 of the AktG and the cash compensation in accordance with section 304 of the AktG. In July 2015, the Munich Regional Court ruled in the first instance that the amount of the cash settlement payable to the noncontrolling interest shareholders of MAN should be increased from €80.89 to €90.29; at the same time, the amount of the cash compensation was confirmed. The ruling is not yet legally effective, and both parties to the proceedings have since appealed. Volkswagen continues to maintain that the results of the valuation are correct. The appropriateness of the valuation was confirmed by the audit firms and by the court-appointed auditor of the agreement. As a precaution, the measurement was adjusted to the higher settlement payable, resulting in an expense of €437 million in 2015, which was recognized in the other financial result.